(GL) The Supporting Female Character Strategy Manual - Chapter 17

“The ones that grow up looking like you are the hardest to deal with. Unless a lord takes a special liking to you, you can only stay on the mountain and can’t go anywhere.”

“But being good-looking isn’t always great either. Do you remember Xiao Qiu? Its fur was glossy and bright, the prettiest cub on our mountain. I heard it used to be a little pet in a wealthy household, and its master treated it very well. Unfortunately, the master’s wife didn’t like it and stomped it to death one day when the master wasn’t home.”

“The people outside are all very scary.”

“But there are lots and lots of delicious things to eat out there, like beggar’s chicken, scallion oil chicken, crispy fried chicken, mandarin duck chicken…”

Jian Tongyao awoke to these childish, incessant words. After waking, she stared at the dim cave and fell into a long period of deep thought.

Who am I, where am I, and what am I doing?

She tried to stretch her hands and kick her legs, to move a little. But in her peripheral vision, she caught sight of a thin, curled, yellowed leaf trembling symbolically twice. She froze on the spot, not daring to move, terrified that with one more movement, a certain devastating thought would come true.

“Xiao Chou, what’s wrong with you?”

“???”

Along with the concerned inquiry, a small white paw reached out in front of her. It even made a very human-like gesture, retracting its sharp claws to gently touch her forehead with its paw pad, if she even had a forehead.

“Don’t be scared, Xiao Chou. Wait here, I’ll go move some sunlight for you.”

“…”

In Jian Tongyao’s field of vision, a dusty little gray beast with a round bottom waddled to the cave entrance. It used its head to push aside a large rock that was blocking the light. She could even hear the little beast’s heavy panting, as if it was using all of its strength. Its small, short tail tensed up with the difficult effort, sticking straight up like a radar, which made her feel nervous just watching.

Only when a faint light, carried in by the cold wind from outside, shone into the cave did Jian Tongyao get a glimpse of this world. It was a desolate scene of withered trees, dotted with white flowers.

It was snowing.

Jian Tongyao made a preliminary assessment. She was in a remote mountain cave, it was currently winter, and as for herself… She shivered, and several scorched-yellow, thin, curled leaves curled inward, like a woman’s finely curled hair. They were thin and very ugly.

“Ding!”

“Data loading!”

“Loading complete. Host, please receive!”

The complete memories of a little plant demon flooded her mind. Jian Tongyao trembled violently, not from excitement, but from sheer anger. Other people who transmigrated got wealthy and noble identities, with no worries about food or drink. But when it was her turn, she became a little demon, and a vine demon at that, one that had inexplicably gained consciousness. Because her original form was so strange-looking, she was given the name ‘Xiao Chou’ (Little Clown). And because she was too weak to catch the eye of any powerful demons, she couldn’t get any protection. So, she could only stay in this remote, damp cave to fend for herself.

Probably from a long-term lack of sunlight, her original body’s growth was worrying. Its leaves were withered and yellow, and even before it could transform, it was already showing signs of decay. No, it had completely withered. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to transmigrate into it.

And her only friend, this chattering white fox beast, had been abandoned by its pack for being born with a short tail, which was considered unlucky. That was how it came to live here with her.

Seeing her trembling so hard, Xiao Hui was overjoyed and circled around her nonstop.

“I can’t move you, so you should move your roots to the entrance and get some sun. It’s been sunny the last few days, and the sunlight is very good.”

Jian Tongyao met the white fox beast’s expectant gaze, not knowing what kind of expression to make.

What kind of expression can a vine demon possibly have!!!

Grrrrumble.

The white fox, which had been full of energy just a moment ago, stood up in a very human-like way. It pressed its two dusty gray forelimbs against its rumbling stomach and complained to her foolishly, “Xiao Chou, I haven’t eaten chicken in a very long time.”

After speaking, a string of crystal-clear drool trickled from the corner of its mouth.

This is a foodie fox.

Assessment complete.

There was nothing she could do to help. Right now, she just wanted to… shut herself away for a while.

“Hello, Host. I am System 1314. It’s a pleasure to be of service to you.”

The cold, emotionless, mechanical voice quickly awakened some memories in Jian Tongyao’s mind. She racked her brains for a moment and said, “5438. I remember that was the system. Why has it been changed now?”

“System 5438 was put in confinement for violating multiple rules. During this time, 1314 will be serving the Host.”

Jian Tongyao grew a little anxious, not even noticing the worry in her own tone. “Why was it put in confinement?”

“Host, please work hard to complete the mission with the target character and help the target character walk the grand path to happiness.”

This non-answer clearly meant it had no intention of telling her.

Jian Tongyao got angry. “How am I supposed to find the target character as a plant?”

“You will know soon enough.”

Jian Tongyao inwardly disliked the system’s business-like tone, but she accepted the arrangement well, as if she had grown used to it many times. It was more like she had surrendered to it.

“Smells good, delicious, so delicious.”

“…”

While she was shutting herself away, the foodie fox used its own dirty paws to draw a plump hen on the cave wall. Facing the wall, it kept smacking its lips and swallowing saliva. Its short little tail wagged back and forth, looking completely satisfied.

Jian Tongyao’s ears finally found peace. She tried to move toward the cave entrance to see the world outside. Even if she was a plant demon, she was a plant demon with ideals and culture.

The first time, she couldn’t budge.

The second time, the soil under her seemed to loosen a bit. She felt her whole body lighten, as if she had found the right way.

The third time, she took a deep breath, pulled with all her might, and then… with a somersault, her entire being rolled out of the cave. Outside the cave was a high, bottomless cliff.

“Xiao Chou!”

“…”

Jian Tongyao’s slightly curled leaves clung to the cliff face like an octopus’s tentacles. Every leaf was fully spread out, while the rest trembled like a tangled mess, chaotic in the wind.

Xiao Hui hurriedly used its paws to hook her. After several tries, it finally managed to wrap her leaves around a large rock and, like a game of tug-of-war, dragged her back from the brink of death.

Huuuff! Huuuff!

The little white fox collapsed into a fox pancake, its flat little belly rising and falling. After resting enough, it rolled over and grumbled at her, “Xiao Chou, why were you so reckless? Once the weather gets warm, we can go outside to find food and go down the mountain to see the world.”

Jian Tongyao was also shaken by the experience.

The outside world is so damn dangerous!!!

Just as the little white fox had said, the white spots on the mountain began to melt. At the foot of the mountain, small clusters of green eagerly poked their tips out from the cracks between rocks. Birds chirped, tracing an arc across the high sky and scattering countless seeds.

Jian Tongyao had learned to control her stride when moving, so she wouldn’t tumble off the cliff to her death with a single somersault. Even so, she was still extremely careful, stationing herself behind the large rock. Firstly, to block the wind, and secondly, to avoid any careless birds from pecking at her.

It was only after one time when she was sunbathing and drowsing off, nearly getting pecked by a bird the size of an eagle, that she realized how terrifying this world was. When birds got hungry enough, they even pecked at vines. It was simply insane.

Her extended, curled leaves enjoyed the gentle breeze and the warm sun. They all unfurled, one by one. The unfurled leaves looked like strips of kelp… even uglier.

Jian Tongyao spent her days sunbathing and listening to Xiao Hui chatter about the affairs of humans down the mountain. Most of it was hearsay picked up by the fluffy white fox. Life was exceptionally pleasant, almost like she was on vacation.

It would be even better if she could ignore the fact that her original body was a ‘delicate and weak’ vine demon.

One day, Xiao Hui returned from foraging and said excitedly, “Xiao Chou, I heard the powerful demons have gone down the mountain! There’s a small town at the foot of the mountain with lots of delicious food. Let’s go down too!”

Jian Tongyao scratched her head, using a slightly curled leaf to smooth the dirty fur on the other’s body. But the little white fox dodged here and there, giggling nonstop. “Xiao Chou, don’t tickle me, haha.”

I’m clearly just petting its fur!!!

Jian Tongyao still remembered her mission concerning the target character and had been wanting to find a chance to go down. The two little demons put their heads together and decided to climb down the cliff like geckos to a flat area below. Then, they would use the vines on the cliff to swing themselves down like on a swing set.

The little white fox had spent the whole winter periodically searching for food, so it swung itself down without hesitation. In contrast, Jian Tongyao, a plant demon of the vine family, trembled as she looked at the bottomless drop below. She covered her eyes with two leaves and slid all the way to the bottom with a whoosh.

“Xiao Chou, you’re so slow.”

Grumbling aside, Xiao Hui resignedly tried to pick Jian Tongyao up in a hug… but couldn’t move her.

Jian Tongyao was also dumbfounded. The little white fox before her had, at some point, turned into a bright and lovely young girl of about thirteen or fourteen. Her large eyes were blinking at her. She was wearing a set of plain, tattered clothes that she must have found somewhere, making her look like a little beggar.

“How am I supposed to take you down the mountain like this? Get smaller.”

Under the other’s urging, Jian Tongyao curled her leaves again and again, finally rolling into a vine plant suitable for a pot. Its small, cute leaves clustered together, forming the shape of a large rose bouquet.

The little white fox happily took her friend down the mountain, chanting about twenty different chicken dishes the entire way.

Xianyao Town.

The two little demons blended into the crowd, their eyes dazzled by the sight of the bustling streets. Jian Tongyao observed that the passing crowd all wore wide-sleeved robes and shirts, their attire looking very ancient. Her two leaves instantly drooped.

The little white fox twitched the tip of her nose. She could tell where the aroma was coming from even with her eyes closed. She followed the scent, smacking her lips.

“Xiao Chou, do you smell that? It’s roasted chicken. It must be delicious.”

Just as the little white fox was searching for the roasted chicken, in an inn not far away, two figures sat upright and observed the trembling blades of the swords in their hands. They exchanged a glance. “There’s a demon.”

Jian Tongyao was still unaware of the approaching crisis. At that moment, she was clinging to the back of someone’s kitchen courtyard, acting as a lookout for the gluttonous little white fox.

In her ten-plus years as a human, she had never done anything like stealing.

Who would have thought that after just a few days of being a demon, she would fall to such a state. She truly felt she had let down the earnest teachings of all her teachers from her nine years of compulsory education, as well as her mother’s painstaking and repeated guidance.

Sigh, she had been corrupted by this world.

Just as Jian Tongyao was giving in to despair and her leaves drooped in defeat, a cold sword was suddenly held in front of her, its sharp blade only a few centimeters away.

A beautiful figure, like a banished immortal, appeared in her vision. Jian Tongyao’s ears were filled with the other’s cold yet pleasant voice. “What little demon dares to show itself here?”

“Ding!”

“The target character has been delivered. Host, please remember to check and receive.”